Full Recovery
Medical experts say a trip to the emergency room, the local clinic or your personal physician is absolutely safe in the wake of Butler County going to green.
Dr. David Rottinghaus, chief medical officer and vice president of medical affairs at Butler Memorial Hospital, said the standard hospital officials would recommend is the same they use at the hospital: People should be symptom-free for 72 hours.
Rottinghaus said people should not put off going to their doctors or a clinic for fear of contracting COVID-19.
“Emergent medical care, needs to be addressed in a timely fashion,” he said.
He said the hospital and its clinics have been preparing for weeks, refining protocols and procedures, for an expected surge in patient visits.
“We can treat patients and screen patients. We are really ready to see anybody at any time. We never want anybody to delay care,” he said.
Dr. Elliot Smith, the Butler Health System chief clinical officer and chief quality officer, agreed.
“Some folks are concerned about it. Information can be so variable. But it's absolutely safe to come back,” Smith said.
Smith said clinics and offices have been outfitted to support physical distance. Patients and office staff both must wear masks.
[naviga:h3]BMH visitation policy[/naviga:h3]
The health system's revised visitation policy calls for most patients to be limited to one designated visitor for the duration of hospital stay. Specialized care areas may have modified designated visitor guidelines.
Visitation hours will be limited from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. with a recommended rest period from 2 to 4 p.m. with some exceptions.
All visitors will continue to be screened at hospital entrances, physician offices and outpatient sites. Outpatient site screening may happen at registration and not the front entrance to the building.
Visitors are not permitted for any patient in isolation for suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
[naviga:h3]Early measures essential [/naviga:h3]
Rottinghaus called masks and other personal protective equipment such as gowns a safety measure that the health system adopted early in the pandemic.
“Thank God we didn't see the surge we expected,” he said. “Kudos to the community. It was tough to shut down businesses and staying home, but it led to a lower number of cases in our area.
“The number of cases we could have seen were reduced by the incredible cooperation and support within the community. It's definitely still out there, but we didn't get as big a penetration,” he said.
He also credited the fact the county's population density was much less than in places such as New York City.
The conditions made it possible for Butler County to be moved to the green status of relaxed quarantine measures.
Just as restaurants and salons are having soft openings, Rottinghaus expects the emergency room to have a soft opening under the new conditions.
He said that pre-pandemic the emergency room saw about 135 patients a day. Right now the average is 50 to 55 a day.
<h3>Stay the course</h3>But Smith and Rottinghaus both emphasized that social distancing, wearing masks and washing hands are still the most important things people can do to stop the spread of COVID-19.As such, the hospital and its clinics will be keeping an eye out to make sure waiting rooms are not crowded.“The most effective things you will see with respiratory virus is distancing, the whole point is to reduce transmission of virus by spacing people,” Rottinghaus said.Still, Smith and Rottinghaus said people must still be vigilant even in the new situation.Social distancing, wearing masks and washing hands are still needed to prevent the spread of the virus.Rottinghaus said minimizing physical contact is still a priority.“Seeing family and friends, people need to realize it is acceptable to move around and still be cautious of the risk in it. We are not out of the woods yet,” he said.
